Chapter Eighteen
No Other Way
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Waiting was, of course, much more difficult than it should have been. Every day crawled past agonizingly slowly, and Sunset could never get herself to stop thinking about the portal. Everything else mattered so much less with that end goal in mind. How could anything in this world compare to the one in her memories? She wasn’t convinced that anything would happen on the day the portal was supposed to open, but it felt so right that she stopped trying to question it. In any event, she was afraid of what would happen to her if it didn’t open.
And so it was more out of the need to distract herself that she continued with her other plans. Really, all she had to do was make sure she stayed at CHS for the remainder of the year, but putting forth only the minimal amount of effort was liable to drive her to a mental breakdown long before the portal opened. So she made it a goal to excel in every class. She put on the façade of the perfect student, winning over all of her teachers. If Violet checked in with them to see how Sunset was progressing – and Sunset very much hoped she would – she was certain to hear nothing but good things.
If that wasn’t enough, Sunset had also managed to join the journalism club. Since she was new to the team, she should have been assigned a boring job working behind the scenes. But since that wasn’t helpful to Sunset’s interests, she made sure to show off her charismatic side to the editor in chief, earning her a spot as a reporter.
If Sunset ever decided to continue her plan of dominating the school, she was in a perfect position to do it. She could interview the students and staff, gaining valuable intel in the process. The newspaper gave her the position to write stories as well, which would be a powerful tool in the flow of gossip if she could manage it well enough.
But whenever Sunset thought about that, she began second-guessing herself. What would be the point in doing all that work if she was just going to abandon the school in a year anyway? And honestly, what was she even going to gain from it all? Nothing in this world could compare to the one from her memories.
Well, almost nothing. There was one memory that still ate away at her, and she knew she had to face it sooner or later. And the longer she waited, the more it tormented her.
Which was why Sunset was finally going to face it. As soon as she got off the bus, she moved purposefully through the school. There was only so much time until class started, and she hoped she could get this done before then.
Unfortunately, she had no idea where to look. So she did the only logical thing: She looked everywhere. In the hallways, the library, the cafeteria, the lobby, but everywhere she went wound up being a waste of time.
Deciding she would have to wait until later, Sunset made her way to the front of the school. Even though the portal wouldn’t be active until the end of the year by her calculations, visiting the statue made Sunset feel like she was just a little bit closer to home. She would find herself stopping by it at least once per day, usually absent-mindedly.
Sunset placed her hand against the smooth marble. It was cold and solid, like ice that she was trapped beneath. And even if the sun still shone on the other side, the ice was too thick for it to guide her.
There was no sun in the reflection on the statue, but something else caught Sunset’s eye. A moment’s hesitation, fear of failure holding her back, but then Sunset spun around to and made her way across the courtyard.
“Applejack,” Sunset said once she finally approached the girl she had been looking for.
Applejack turned to face her, mouth hanging open slightly. “Sunset.”
Although Sunset had prepared words for this meeting, they all abandoned her. Instead, she found herself staring down at Applejack’s feet, unwilling to meet her eyes.
“Is, uhm, she a friend of yours?” another voice asked. Sunset had barely noticed her before, but another girl was standing beside Applejack. Sunset had seen her with Applejack before, but didn’t know who she was. She had yellow skin and pink hair, and her voice was so quiet Sunset had barely caught what she said.
“We know each other,” Applejack answered. Of course, it would be wrong to say that they had ever really been friends.
Sunset chanced a look up. Applejack had composed herself and stood with her arms folded. The tough girl act that Sunset had been so taken with seemed to be reserved exclusively for her these days. Every time she saw Applejack with anyone else, she was the warm person that Sunset hadn’t managed to forget.
“Can, uh, can we talk?” Sunset finally managed.
“I can’t think of anythin’ we need to talk about.”
Sunset winced at Applejack’s tone, and even her friend shrunk back in the face of the obvious hostility. She opened her mouth to respond, to convince Applejack that they should talk, and realized that they shouldn’t. Applejack was right, there was no good end to this.
“Yeah. Guess not. Forget about it then.” Sunset turned and walked away. It was easy; she’d already done it a thousand times before.
As she entered the school, Sunset forced down all the emotions she felt. Part of her was happy that Applejack pushed her away, proud even. She was finally taking care of herself. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel hurt. In the letter Applejack had written her, she had said that Sunset could talk to her if she ever changed her mind.
And Sunset had changed her mind. She’d change it, then change it back by the end of the day. It happened constantly since the winter Sunset had almost caused Applejack’s death. She wanted to push Applejack away, keep her safe. She wanted to apologize, to explain that she hadn’t meant all the things she said.
In the end, she always made the same decision. Sunset was not a good person, and she knew that. People around her could get hurt, and she’d probably be the one to do it. If she tried to be warm, she knew she would wind up burning anyone she cared about. It was better to be frozen and unwelcoming. There was no other way.
“Uhm, excuse me?”
‘What next?’ Sunset asked herself. She hadn’t counted on Applejack being the distant one. Even if she could acknowledge that it might be for the best, that wouldn’t stop her from endlessly dwelling on what might’ve been.
Someone tapped Sunset on the shoulder, causing her to wheel around. The quiet girl from outside backed up and stared at the ground, tucking in her arms as if to make herself as small as possible.
“What do you want?” Sunset asked. Even though her tone was more mild annoyance than aggression, the girl still flinched. It was pathetic to watch; Sunset could break her without even trying to.
“I… I’m…”
Sunset sighed. “You’re Applejack’s friend, right?”
“Mmm hmm.” The girl nodded, then started fidgeting with a strand of her hair. “I’m Fluttershy.”
Sunset waited a moment for her to get to the point, but it didn’t seem like it was happening anytime soon. “Yeah, that’s nice and all, but I have to get to class.”
Fluttershy frowned. “Oh. Okay, then…”
Rolling her eyes at the waste of time, Sunset turned to walk away.
“Wait!”
Sunset didn’t bother to turn around as she answered. “Congratulations. Your voice can get louder than ‘hamster’.”
“Uhm… You’re Applejack’s friend, too. Right?”
Strictly speaking, Sunset agreed with Applejack. They hadn’t ever really been friends, exactly. But she was too eager to get to the point of this conversation to point that out. “You could say that. Why do you ask?”
“Well, uhm, it’s just that… Applejack isn’t usually like that. She’s always so kind and thoughtful, and she’s always there to listen to what anyone has to say.”
As if Sunset needed someone to remind her of all the things that made Applejack great. “So did you just want to talk about your crush, or are you going somewhere with this?”
That left Fluttershy blushing, which Sunset had to admit was fun to watch. “It’s just that, well… When you left, she seemed so… sad.”
“Sad?” That didn’t make any sense. Fluttershy had to be imagining it.
Fluttershy nodded, then managed to look up into Sunset’s eyes without turning away. “I think… I think she really did want to find out what you wanted to talk about. She’s just… stubborn.”
At least that last part sounded right. “Look, Fluttershy, you seem like a nice girl. So let me offer you some advice, and maybe you’ll take it to heart better than our stubborn friend ever did. If you let yourself get too close to me, you’re going to wind up miserable in the end. So do yourself a favor, and forget about me. You’ll be a lot better off sticking with Applejack, anyway.”
Sunset walked away, and thankfully, Fluttershy didn’t try to stop her. Having someone who was obviously riddled with her own insecurities follow her around was the last thing either of them needed.
One of Sunset’s favorite things about high school was the increased freedom. In middle school, students were always supposed to be in certain places at certain times, and required permission to go anywhere else. It made lunch one of the most miserable times for her; she hated being around kids, and having a third of the school congregated into one place only made that worse.
But at CHS, she wasn’t confined to the cafeteria. The logical result was that she spent every lunch period in the library. It had been great. She could access the computers or books, get caught up on any homework assignments she hadn’t had time to do in class, and, best of all, no one bothered her. That is, until someone did. It had been great, right up until someone noticed that was where she spent most of her time.
“So any idea what you’re going to write about yet?” Flash asked.
While Sunset had remained somewhat standoffish with the rest of the students, she continued to spend time with Flash. Having someone she could claim as a genuine friend had impressed Violet, especially since Rose Petal had been able to confirm that they spent time together regularly.
“I don’t know. I thought I had something, but it wound up being a bust.” Sunset sighed. She had until the end of the week to show some progress for her first newspaper article, and the whole thing was supposed to be completed for editing a week after that. But all the easy topics were taken by the older reporters – back to school updates, the school’s sports teams, local fashion – leaving Sunset with a handful of stupid suggestions no one could possibly care about, and which wouldn’t help her learn the school any better.
“Hey, don’t worry so much. Whatever you come up with will be incredible, trust me.” Flash smiled that silly lovestruck smile he had whenever he was about to say something he thought was smooth. “I mean, how could it not be with you writing it?”
At least the fact that he was obviously smitten with her meant that it didn’t require much effort to keep his interest. Sunset smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear, and she could practically hear his heart melting. “Aww, thanks, Flash. You’re too sweet.”
The whole scene was too sweet; it left Flash blushing and made Sunset want to gag. But while she had no real interest in Flash, she did want to keep him interested. While her main tactic at Everfree had been fear, she was aware that affection was also a great way to manipulate people.
Although he tried to play it off and return to a casual topic, Flash kept grinning like an idiot as he talked. “Maybe you could write about music? You know, CHS has a long history of student formed bands. Might be an interesting topic.”
Sunset chuckled. “That’d probably be a good one, but I think I’ll wait until we get a few more lessons in. It’d be nice to know what the hell they’re talking about.”
“I dunno, I bet you already could.” The lovestruck expression returned. “You’ve been a quick learner, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be teaching me pretty soon.”
“I guess you have a point.” Despite her initial reluctance, Sunset took Flash up on the guitar lessons, at least until she found a job. Like everything she attempted, she found she excelled at it. It had only been a month and she was still a beginner, but she was picking it up faster than Flash thought she would. “I’ll think about it. Not like I have anything else to go with, not after this morning.”
It seemed that Sunset’s offhand remarks were finally piercing the veil of teenage hormones. “What happened this morning, anyway?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Shucks, and you were doin’ so good, too.”
Sunset bolted upright and spun around in her chair to see Applejack wearing a sheepish look. Unsure of what to say, she simply found herself staring.
Applejack adjusted her hat and looked to the ground. “Sorry for interruptin’, but if ya still wanted to talk, well… I’d be happy to.”
Sunset tried to blink away her surprise and confusion, but neither would subside. After a moment, she stood up, grabbed her backpack, and took a step towards Applejack.
“I… guess I’ll see you later then?” Flash said from behind her. Sunset had completely forgotten about him.
She turned and tried to offer an apologetic smile, but she wasn’t sure how it came out. Suddenly, she found herself completely unable to regulate her body language. “Sorry, Flash. This is… kind of important.”
“Oh, alright then.” Flash was disappointed, and did a bad job at hiding it. Sunset didn’t really care.
He was saying goodbye, but she was already walking away. In the end, it was only the realization that Applejack was watching her that made Sunset turn back to offer a feeble wave.
The library at Canterlot High School was larger than any school library really needed to be, with an entire second floor. Without conferring with one another, that was where they went.
“Sorry for listenin’ in on your conversation just now,” Applejack said as they climbed the stairs.
Sunset just laughed it off. “That doesn’t really seem like you.”
Although Sunset honestly couldn’t care less, it seemed Applejack was embarrassed about it. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but then I saw you and him talkin’ and I guess… Well, you seem different than before.”
That wasn’t so easy to laugh off. If Sunset seemed different than before, that was really just because she had decided to fake it. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Still got a ways to go, though.” Applejack nudged her playfully, which caused Sunset to smile. “Ya coulda told your friend what was botherin’ you.”
“It’s just… a lot to get into.”
“I guess I can understand that. But you should try to be honest with your friends.” Applejack led the way into one of the many secluded places in between bookshelves, so they would have some privacy while they talked.
There was only one person that ever made Sunset want to be honest. Even though she knew it would be stupid, she was half tempted to admit to Applejack that Flash Sentry wasn’t really a friend. She reminded herself to hold her tongue and changed the subject. “So what made you come and find me?”
“The friend I was with this mornin’ talked me into it.”
Oh geez. Another person who didn’t know when to stay away. “Well, that was nice of her, but…” Sunset sighed. “She shouldn’t have. You were right this morning, there’s really no reason for us to talk.”
Applejack just smiled and placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder, and Sunset could practically hear her heart melting. “Come on now, ya came to talk to me ‘bout somethin’. Might as well get on with it.”
Applejack was smiling. She wanted to talk to Sunset, to hear what she had to say. After everything that had happened, after Sunset had gone above and beyond to be as horrible as she could be, Applejack was still there. Maybe she really had changed, at least a little, because it was more than she could take.
“AJ, I’m… I’m so sorry.” Sunset reached her hand towards Applejack’s, which was still resting on her shoulder, but changed her mind at the last minute. Instead, she bowed her head into her palm. “I was awful, and you didn’t deserve any of it. I don’t even know how to explain myself. I guess I really can’t. There’s no excuse for the way I acted.”
It wasn’t enough. It never could be, and Sunset didn’t know why she thought it was even worth a shot. Sunset had spread rumors that made Applejack’s time at Everfree miserable, had constantly insulted her in the short time that they were talking, and had even almost killed her. No apology would change that, and Sunset didn’t have anything else to offer.
The silence said enough. Sunset didn’t want to hear Applejack’s answer anymore, and decided to just leave. “I should –”
“Well, I’ll be…” Applejack pulled her hand away, and Sunset found she couldn’t move after all. “I never thought I’d see the day. Apology accepted!”
“What?” Sunset looked up to see Applejack was smiling. That didn’t make sense, it shouldn’t be so easy. “But… but everything I said! Everything I did!”
Applejack just shrugged. “I forgive ya for all of it. That was a long time ago, and I think you’re a whole new person now.”
Forgiveness. Applejack forgave her. All it took was an apology, and she was forgiven. Sunset let out a weak laugh and shook her head. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
It was all she could do to keep herself from crying. She didn’t deserve forgiveness, didn’t deserve to have someone like Applejack in her life. “Thank you.”
“Aww, don’t worry about it. I’m just happy to see you’re finally figuring stuff out.”
Figuring stuff out? If anything, Sunset felt more confused than ever. “Could… you let Fluttershy know that I’m sorry for earlier? I kinda snapped at her when she tried to help.”
“Sure I can, but I got a better idea.” Applejack pulled out a phone to check the time, then motioned towards the library exit. “There’s still a bit left before lunch’s over. How ‘bout we go find her so you can tell her yourself? I’m sure she’ll forgive ya either way, but it’d mean a lot more comin’ from you.”
Sunset didn’t like to reach out to people. Extending an apology to Fluttershy had been more of an afterthought, and was more so because she was Applejack’s friend than because Sunset felt guilty. But the idea of going with Applejack to do it, of doing anything that Applejack had invited her to do, was impossible to resist.
Applejack led them out of the library, walking with a confidence Sunset wished she could manage herself. “So what are you doing all the way out in CHS, anyway?” Applejack asked casually as they walked.
“Getting away from everything that happened at Everfree. Or at least, I thought I was. Why are you here?”
“My granny works here, so it’s easy enough for her to bring me to and from school. And, well…”
Applejack shifted uncomfortably, and Sunset got the message. “Yeah, I guess you wanted to get away from Everfree too. Probably gave you a heart attack when you saw me.”
“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a bit nervous…” Applejack grinned and clapped Sunset on the back. “But hey! Looks like this wound up workin’ out for both of us!”
Sunset didn’t agree. Even if Applejack was quick to forgive her, she couldn’t help but feel like it would be safer for the two to be at different schools. Not that she could say something like that, not now. “I guess that’s true.”
“Sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier. Guess I was still pretty worried ‘bout what would happen.”
That was too far; there was no reason for Applejack to apologize for anything. “It’s fine, you had every reason to be wary. Please don’t apologize…”
For a moment, Applejack looked like she was going to press the apology, but she dropped it. “Hope I didn’t mess up ya up too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ya told your friend that you had somethin’ figured out until this mornin’. Me not talkin’ with ya is what messed up your plans, right?”
Sunset had already forgotten what she had been talking about when Applejack had walked up. Remembering caused her to blush. “Oh, don’t worry about that.”
“Uh huh. Thought so.” Applejack sighed. “I won’t force it out of you, but I’m sorry all the same.”
If Applejack was trying to manipulate Sunset into telling her what she had meant, she was doing an excellent job. Did she realize that, or was she innocently stumbling into the perfect responses? It didn’t matter; whether she knew what she was doing or not, Sunset couldn’t let her keep apologizing.
“It really wasn’t a big deal, and you probably wouldn’t have really been interested anyway.” Sunset chuckled, laughing at her own stupid plan. “I’m writing for the school newspaper now, and I was wondering, well, hoping I could maybe interview you and your friends.”
Applejack cocked her head to the side. “What for?”
Sunset wondered if Applejack had even noticed. “Well, you, Fluttershy, and the rest of your friends are pretty popular.”
Apparently, Applejack hadn’t noticed. “We are? I guess I can see Rainbow Dash, seein’ as she’s on the soccer team, and Rarity for sure. And Pinkie’s friends with everyone, so I suppose that makes sense. But I didn’t think anyone paid much mind to me and Fluttershy.”
It wasn’t really surprising that Applejack seemed to have no idea how these things work. “Well yeah, but when three of the most popular freshman are constantly hanging out, it makes the rest of their group popular by extension. Plus you five are known for just being completely inseparable. So I thought maybe, I don’t know, I could write a story on friendship or something.”
“Really?” Despite the explanation, Applejack still looked confused. If anything, she actually seemed more surprised than before. “We sure you’re the same Sunset Shimmer I went to middle school with?”
Sunset laughed. “Yeah, saying it out loud made me realize how dumb that idea was.”
Applejack shook her head and smiled. “Now don’t say that! I think it’s a great idea, and I’d be happy to help. Course I can’t speak for the others, but I reckon they won’t mind either.”
“I don’t know, doesn’t it seem a little too cheesy?”
“Maybe a little, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. You got any other ideas?”
Unfortunately, Applejack had her there. “Well, no…”
“Well then, might as well go for it. Come on, we can ask everyone now.”
Sunset stopped in front of the cafeteria. Applejack had a group of real friends waiting for her inside. She didn’t really need someone like Sunset to bring them down.
“You nervous?” Applejack asked.
Sunset smirked. “Nervous? The hell would I be nervous for?”
Whether she wanted to or not, Sunset had already obligated herself to this meeting. She just needed to go in and apologize to Fluttershy, no need to even ask about the interview.
She matched Applejack’s confidence as they walked in. Even if she wouldn’t ever be making friends with these girls, she still wanted to present the best possible image to Applejack’s friends.
Three of them were sitting around a table, while the fourth was standing on top of it. Although Sunset hadn’t met any of them, aside from Fluttershy earlier that day, she recognized the girl on the table as the one who was on the soccer team.
“And then whoosh! I jumped over the Shadowbolt player, and –”
“Rainbow, what do ya think you’re doin’?” Applejack asked as they approached.
Rainbow looked unamused by the interruption. “Trying to tell the story of last night’s game!”
“Uh, you do know we were all there, don’tcha?” Applejack asked. She shook her head and gestured to Sunset before Rainbow could answer. “Everyone, this is Sunset Shimmer, a friend of mine from middle school. Sunset, ya already met Fluttershy, and this is Rarity and Pinkie Pie.” She gestured towards each of her seated friends in turn.
Rainbow folded her arms and frowned at Applejack. “Forgetting someone?”
“Nope. I’m just not sure I want to admit that I’m friends with someone who stands on top of a table while she’s wearing a skirt.”
Rainbow Dash jumped off the table and pointedly ignored Applejack. She stuck her hand out towards Sunset and grinned. “Name’s Rainbow Dash. Star player of the Wondercolts soccer team, and soon-to-be star of the track team.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Sunset said, shaking her hand. “But aren’t auditions for the sports teams decided by now?”
“Yeah, but the coach realized the team needed someone like me, so they made an exception.” Rainbow shrugged, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“It also helped that one of the other members moved away,” Pinkie said. She took Sunset’s hand and shook it vigorously. “My name’s Pinkie Pie! But I guess you already knew that since Applejack just introduced us. So anyway, I just know we’re all going to be best friends, and we can do all sorts of fun things together! We can all go to dances together, and have sleepovers, and maybe we can even start a band and fight magical creatures from another world, and we’ll hang out at the mall, and –”
Rarity cleared her throat and smiled when she saw she interrupted Pinkie’s rambling and caught Sunset’s attention. “Pinkie, it’s wonderful that you’re excited to greet our new friend, but let’s not overwhelm her. Please excuse her, she just gets a bit overexcited at times.”
“All the time!” Pinkie corrected cheerfully.
“I do think I speak for all of us when I say it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Rarity continued. “I wasn’t aware that any of Applejack’s old friends went to this school.”
As far as Sunset was aware, Applejack hadn’t had very many friends in middle school. She and Golden Harvest had remained close, but most of the other kids kept their distance. Despite her best efforts at stopping the rumors, Sunset never could salvage Applejack’s reputation.
But if Applejack had decided not to tell her new friends about that, then Sunset wasn’t going to be the one to tell them. “Well, we weren’t that close, really,” Sunset answered. She turned to the one person that hadn’t spoken since she had arrived. “Fluttershy, I… wanted to say sorry for earlier. I was upset, and I guess I kind of took it out on you.”
“Oh, uhm, it’s okay,” Fluttershy mumbled quietly. “I’m just happy everything worked out.”
Sunset couldn’t help but notice everyone else’s reactions as well. Rarity seemed to want to ask what was going on, but thought better of it, and kept to herself. Applejack smiled happily at the reconciliation, apparently oblivious to the fact that Fluttershy was still visibly upset. Rainbow Dash’s tone shifted instantly; she didn’t say anything, but she sat down next to Fluttershy and kept her eyes fixed on Sunset, watching for some sign that she would fuck something up.
And then there was Pinkie Pie. Without any forewarning, she stood up and grabbed Sunset by the arm, pulling her over to Fluttershy and then wrapping an arm around both of them. “Aww, no need to worry about it, Sunny! It happens to all of us sometimes, and I’m sure that Shy knows you didn’t mean to do anything bad!”
“O-of course,” Fluttershy stammered, sounding every bit as uncomfortable as Sunset felt.
Sunset pulled herself away. She hated being called Sunny, and having people touch her unexpectedly was even worse. If it wasn’t for the fact that Applejack was right next to her, she probably would’ve started yelling. And even though she restrained herself, she noticed Rainbow’s eyes had narrowed as if she was already expecting the worst.
It was time to get out. “Well, it was nice meeting all of you.”
She took a step backwards, right into Applejack’s outstretched arm. Sunset froze as Applejack gently placed her arm around her shoulder. “Sunset’s on the journalism team, and she was hoping she could interview the five of us for the paper.”
‘Fuck. I guess this is happening then…’ If it had been anyone else, there would be no way. But since it was Applejack, Sunset just smiled along sheepishly.
“You want to interview us for the school paper?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, if you all don’t mind,” Sunset answered, hoping that they would, in fact, mind.
“Well, I for one am flattered,” Rarity said with a smile, “but whatever for?”
Before Sunset could answer, the bell rang. She wasn’t sure whether to be thankful that this conversation would be put on hold until she could figure out how to handle it, or if she should be pissed that it hadn’t rung a few minutes sooner. She opted for both.
“We’d love to!” Pinkie answered.
“I certainly know I’d be delighted, whatever the reason is,” Rarity agreed.
Rainbow looked like she was about to protest, but stopped when Fluttershy answered. “I guess if everyone else wants to, it’ll be okay.”
It seemed Fluttershy’s approval was all that Rainbow really needed, as she finally gave up the watchdog role. “Yeah, I guess I’ll let you interview me. Can’t say I’m surprised that you want to so badly.”
“Guess that settles that,” Applejack said. “But we should probably get to class.”
Sunset looked around at the five of them, smiling. “Thank you all. I’ll get in touch with you soon to schedule the interviews.”
As soon as she turned away, her smile fell into a scowl. She walked to her next class while fuming on the circumstances she was stuck in. Fluttershy could barely manage to speak at an audible level, Rainbow obviously didn’t want to try and get along, and Pinkie couldn’t understand the concept of personal space. The only one of Applejack’s friends Sunset didn’t already dislike was Rarity, and she didn’t exactly have a winning impression of her either.
And she’d be stuck interviewing them. About friendship, of all things. Not to mention she’d be walking on eggshells the whole time, since they were Applejack’s friends.
“Sunset, wait up,” Applejack called from behind her.
At least there would be one guilty pleasure involved. “I know you miss me, but you really should get to class,” Sunset said as she turned around.
Applejack smirked. “I’m going. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if that was a bit much. I know Pinkie can come on a bit strong, and Rainbow…”
Sunset shrugged. “It’s fine. Stop apologizing so much.”
Applejack nodded. “And, you know… You’re welcome to join us more often if ya want to. You and your friend, if he doesn’t mind hanging out with a bunch of girls.”
“Loverboy? Something tells me he wouldn’t complain much.”
“So what do you say?” Applejack smiled. That perfect, friendly smile that had danced through Sunset’s memories and dreams for over a year. “Friends?”
Friends. They could actually be friends. Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted? Why fake a friendship with Flash when she could have a real one with Applejack? Sure, she’d have to put up with Applejack’s other friends, but wouldn’t that be worth it?
Of course it would be. There wasn’t even a real question there. Perhaps Sunset had changed, at least a little. For perhaps the first time, she was willing to admit to herself that being friends with Applejack was exactly what she wanted. And there she was, smiling that perfect smile, welcoming Sunset into her life.
“Thanks, AJ. That really does mean a lot to me.” Sunset smiled as well. “But there’s too many bad memories tied up in, well, us. I’m happy that you and I are good now, but I really want to focus on moving forward. I think that us being friends would complicate that.”
The perfect smile faded as Applejack turned her eyes to the ground. “I guess I see your point.” When she looked back up, Applejack was smiling again, but it wasn’t the same. “Well, alright then. But thanks for reaching out today. It’ll be nice to know we’re at least on better terms from now on.”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, I’ll catch up with you about the interview later.”
Applejack waved, then ran off. Sunset smiled to herself as she walked to her next class. She did the right thing, and that wasn’t something she experienced very often. Applejack had real friends, and didn’t need someone like Sunset bringing her down. It would be better this way.
If Sunset accepted the offer, she’d screw it up eventually. She always did. She could only keep Applejack safe by keeping her distant. Stay frozen, don’t let anyone important get close. There was no other way.